Japan Special Steel Products Output to Hit Record in July-September

Japanese special steel hot rolled products output will increase by 6.1% to record 5.26 million tonnes in July-September from same period of 2005, according to Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The output 0.3% higher than April-June and 0.4% lower than 5.281 million tonnes of demand estimated by METI. The output increases when automobile output keeps firm and the stainless and tool steel export increases. The output will renew the record for 3 quarters in a row since January-March. The raw steel output will decrease by around 90,000 tonnes in July-September from April-June due to summer time output reduction. However, the rolled products output increases both from April-June and same period of 2005 due to firm activities by domestic manufacturers and firm offshore demand for automobile and energy industry.